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Sunday, 8 May 2016

Craft: Using Wax Sand for Candle Making and Magic

One of the easiest ways to make your own candles is using wax sand. All you do is pop the wick into a container, such as a glass or jar, then pour the wax sand (sometimes called candle sand) around it. You might need to tie or prop the wick against a stick or a pencil across the top of the container while you are doing the filling. Simple.

It is much safer than making regular candles because you don't melt the wax and although it is best if you put some newspaper down to catch any spillage, mess is minimal. Also, you don’t need to leave the candle to set as you do with one made with melted wax. Once you have trimmed the wick to the right length you can light it immediately.

The pictures on this post show a wax sand candle I made using a kit I found in a charity shop, but you can order wax sand and wicksquite easily online. One of the things I particularly like about making wax sand candles is that it is good for layering different colours. This is very useful for candle magic.

Colour symbolism is an important part of many candle spells. Although you can use a white candle, witches will often try to use one that is a colour that corresponds to their intention.

For example, you might choose pink for a love spell or yellow for a money spell. However, if you start looking at tables of colour correspondences you can get confused as to which is actually the best colour to use. Take a love spell for instance. While pink represents romance in modern culture, red can symbolise passion, white could represent wishes for a wedding and green is the traditional colour for Venus Goddess of Love.

By creating a candle with layers of different colours you can combine several correspondences. In the candle you can see being made in the photos, white could represent honest intentions, pink could be for romance and then red for passion. If you want to write a word – “love” for example – into the candle, use the end of a match to mark that out in the wax sand at the top before you light it.

If you want to store or transport a candle of this type before lighting it, the best type of container to use is a jar with a secure lid. Fill it right up to the top with wax sand, fold the wick across the top, then put the lid on tight to stop the sand falling out.